Traveler Running Away to the Circus

Traveler Running Away to the Circus at Age 16


Salmon Mc Carthy ran away from home at age 16 when the circus came through his small town in upstate New York. He was a member of the notorious travelers and had lived in their encampments growing up a petty criminal as most of the travellers were. He never went to school and was home-schooled. They moved every couple of months, many of them one step ahead of the law. Many were petty con artists, the kids often were used as drug runners, and everyone was engaged in petty crime. That is just what they did. They were infamous for being fake roofers targeting the elderly living alone, sometimes when they felt like it, they did some work, but most of the time they took people’s money and ran off moving their camp to another town when people complained.

The travelers were a distinct group of Irish origin. They soon had clans in Canada, the UK, and the US. They lived in stolen recreation vehicles and trailers, and traveler families had about 25 adults and 10 children. Although often considered gypsies, they were not related to the gypsies according to DNA analysis.

The travelers had a strict code of conduct. They lied and conned outsiders, but they never lied to the clan’s leaders and the clan leaders never lied to the family members. The family considered you to be a member of the clan for life and if you left the clan, you were expected to keep the clan’s secrets for life. Given the high level of petty and not-so-petty crime and their association with other criminal organizations, they took this pretty seriously, and in fact, authorized the killing of ex-family members who talk out of school so to speak.

He dreamed of escaping, hating the petty crime, and the constant lies and cons and games the family used on outsiders. He wanted to break free by going to the circus.

Salmon told the clan leader, who was his father, his other. and the rest of the clan that he wanted to leave and join the circus.

Sam Mc Carthy said,

“Well, Salmon, we may have an opportunity. The circus master may be willing to hire you. But remember,the code of silence applies to you. If you join the circus and later want to rejoin the family you are always welcome. Many of us have been part of the circus, including myself. So let me inquire,”

Sam talked to Mr. Jones, the circus leader, who told him that there was an immediate opening, as the lion had injured the lion tamer. They negotiated a cash offer to release Salmon to the circus.

The travelers had a long-term relationship with the circus, many of them had been members. He trained daily to learn the ropes and became a lion tamer at age 16. He was soon part of the circus family, feeling at home because circus folks were like his traveler family, outcasts, rebels, and travelers.

He rose through the circus and became the chief director of the circus. He made many changes to ensure that the circus would remain relevant to the modern world. But he continued the long-standing relationship with the travelers, hiring many of them over the years. The lion was sold off to one of the travelers.


The Circus comes to town and the ________ hurts him/herself just before the grand opening. They make you (or your character) the replacement. Write a story or poem. (You don't have to include the bolded line - just make it the plot of your entry.)

Choose Action/Adventure as one of your genres.


My 22nd WDC Account Birthday is later this month, and some awesome members have been reviewing some of my writing - some from over 20 years ago. So today let's have a "blast from the past" Cramp prompt from 2002 (that I wrote an entry for, and which a few people have reviewed recently).

for more information on travelers see the following explanation from Bing AI chat

Certainly! The Irish Travellers, also known as Pavees or Mincéirí, have a rich and fascinating history. Let’s explore their origins, culture, and journey:
1. Origins and Language:
o Irish Travellers are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group originating in Ireland.
o They predominantly speak English, but many also communicate in Shelta, a language with mixed English and Irish origins.
o Despite being occasionally referred to as “Gypsies”, Irish Travellers are not genetically related to the Romani people (who are of Indo-Aryan origin).
o Genetic analysis indicates that Travellers have Irish extraction and likely diverged from the settled Irish population around the 1600s, possibly during the time of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.
o Centuries of cultural isolation have led Travellers to become genetically distinct from the settled Irish population.
2. Population and Ethnic Status:
o Irish Traveller communities are found not only in Ireland but also in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada.
o As of 2016, there were approximately 32,302 Travellers within Ireland, representing 0.7% of the total population of Ireland.
o The total population of people with Traveller ancestry is difficult to estimate, as many individuals of Traveller descent do not explicitly identify themselves as Travellers.
o In the United Kingdom alone, it is believed that up to 300,000 people have Traveller heritage.
3. Rights and Recognition:
o Traveler rights groups long advocated for ethnic status, which they successfully achieved from the Irish government in 2017.
o The British Government considers Travellers resident in the UK to form part of the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller (GRT) community.
4. Nomenclature:
o Travelers refer to themselves as “miners” in Gammon or “an Lucht siúil” in Irish (meaning “the walking people”).
5. Oral Histories and Origins:
o There are numerous theories and oral histories surrounding the origins of Irish Travellers as a distinct group.
o Research has been complicated by the fact that the group appears to have no written records of its own, relying primarily on oral tradition through storytelling to disseminate its history and culture.
o The estimated time of divergence between the settled population and Travellers was set at a minimum of 8 generations ago (approximately 240 years) and a maximum of 14 generations ago (approximately 420 years). The best-fit estimation points to around 360 years ago, placing their emergence in the 1650s1.
In summary, Irish Travellers have a resilient heritage, a unique language, and a place in Ireland’s social fabric that spans centuries. Their journey is one of cultural preservation, adaptation, and identity. 🌟
For further exploration, you can refer to the Wikipedia page on Irish Travellers1.